Understanding Benefits

Responsible Investing

Through the ELCA Pension and Other Benefits Program, Portico strives to empower members to live well for life — physically, financially, and emotionally. By living well as whole people of God, we can better enhance the lives of others — doing God’s work in Christ’s name for the sake of the world.

Investing for Social Impact

While you pursue investment returns for your retirement, your investments can help revitalize a neighborhood, develop affordable housing, and advocate for the environment. Find out how 26,000 ELCA investors are making a positive difference in the world together.

How Your Investments Make a Difference

Being a good steward with your retirement funds can mean more than simply accumulating assets. It can mean building coalitions with other shareholders to advocate for responsible, sustainable business practices, steering clear of industries whose products and services don’t align with ELCA social teachings and policies, and financially supporting investment opportunities that strive for positive social impact.

Shareholder Advocacy Across Our Funds

On behalf of all ELCA retirement plan members, Portico collaborates with other stakeholder groups to influence decisions made by companies in which we are invested. By having dialogue with corporate leaders, proxy voting, and the filing of shareholder resolutions, we act on behalf of more than 26,000 investors in all of our 20 funds to bring a voice to the table that encourages responsible business practices and good stewardship of resources.Learn more about shareholder advocacy

Screening and Positive Social Investing Via Social Purpose Funds

Screening
On behalf of ELCA social purpose fund investors, Portico identifies companies with business practices that conflict with ELCA social teachings and policies, and doesn’t consider them for future investments. We currently screen out companies based on their involvement in:

Distilled alcohol, which can cause physical and emotional harm to individuals and families when used excessively

Military weapons, which contradict Christ’s call that we be peacemakers

Pornography, because commercial sexual exploitation is a destructive use of God’s good gift of human sexuality

Private prisons, which remove from government the responsibility for holding criminals accountable for their crimes

Tobacco, which compromises the physical health of those who use it and those exposed to second-hand smoke

Denial of human rights in disputed or occupied territories, which can take away individuals' rights to equal access and participation in legal and political decisions affecting them

Using the ELCA’s current social criteria screens as a guide, Portico reviews thousands of potential companies on an ongoing basis and typically eliminates about 10% of those it reviews. When a new screen is created and approved by the ELCA, Portico considers it for approval and, once approved by the Portico board of trustees, applies that screen to investment decisions going forward.

By using all eight ELCA social criteria screens, Portico currently excludes about 740 companies from ELCA retirement plan investments, including about 200 companies screened for environmental reasons. Guided by the ELCA’s current Environment Screen, Portico targets companies most egregious in terms of damage to the environment. This includes:

Companies with a history of significant toxic spills and releases, energy and climate change issues, poor water management practices, and other waste management issues

Some of the largest fossil-fuel producing companies, including ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, and BP

About 155 companies owning thermal coal, oil shale, and tar sands reserves, the most carbon-intensive (dirtiest) fossil fuels — these companies account for about 82% of the emissions tracked by the Carbon Underground 200™'s top 100 coal companies and in total about 2/3 of the Carbon Undergound 200™'s top 100 coal and top 100 oil and gas companies.

Positive Social Investing
On behalf of ELCA social purpose fund investors, Portico strives to balance financial return and social impact, investing when possible in companies and organizations making a positive, measurable difference in the community and God’s world. In particular, we seek out opportunities to support:

Community development initiatives supporting education, job training, affordable housing, and public health

Economic development initiatives in disputed or occupied territories

In seven of the eight social purpose funds, social impact is increased by making social impact first (SIF) investments. These investments accept a somewhat lower projected return and/or somewhat higher projected risk in order to strive for greater, measureable social impact. SIF investments can comprise no more than 10% of the assets in each fund. The remaining 90% include positive social investments with higher return projections than SIF investments. Learn about positive social investing and ELCA social purpose funds

Blessing the World Since 1988

ELCA social purpose investing began in the context of moral outrage over apartheid and other social issues important to predecessor church bodies. It allows investors to feel confident that their funds are being stewarded with an eye toward God’s work in the world.

Our approach to investing for social impact is grounded in the social teachings and policies of the ELCA. Portico looks to ELCA social criteria screens and social issue papers to guide shareholder advocacy and investment decisions. We regularly communicate with the ELCA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) consultant and members of the CSR Table, which is made up of the ELCA director for advocacy, the ELCA director of the Lutheran Office for World Community, the ELCA director of theological discernment, and other ELCA churchwide staff, as well as staff of Portico.

Promoting Sustainable Business Practices

Becoming a Socially Responsible Investor

Feel good about knowing your investments are bringing about positive change in the world? Why not spread the word? Telling others why you choose to support these efforts just might create more socially responsible investors.

Contacts

Portico Customer Care Center

Plan member rights under the plans are governed by the plan documents, which are the full, legal descriptions of the plans. If any of the information on this page is inconsistent with the corresponding plan document, the plan document is the controlling document.